1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a filling connector for discharging the contents of a bag filled with a material in the form of liquid or paste.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, various goods are sold in dischargeable containers for accommodating the goods in order to reduce waste of the packed material.
Goods of the type mentioned are principally food in the form of liquid or paste such as sauce or dressing or cleaning material in the form of liquid, and these goods are handled particularly by restaurants or hospitals where the goods are consumed in large amounts. Recently however, for the same above-described object, various materials for home use are also sold in dischargeable containers, and the number of kinds of materials thus sold is increasing.
Most conventional dischargeable materials are enclosed in flexible bags, and in order to discharge the material, the bag is partially cut and is squeezed to force out the packed material enclosed therein through the cut opening.
Some conventional dischargeable materials for business use which are consumed in large amounts employ a bag having a cappable plug member welded to the outer side thereof. Upon discharging the material for the first time, the bag is broken at a portion thereof within the plug member. When packed material remains in the bag, the plug member may be capped so as to prevent leakage of the packed material remaining in the bag or admission of dust or foreign matter into the bag.
However, dischargeable bags conventionally used merely enclose the packed material therein. A container which is to be filled with a packed material is naturally formed as a container for accommodating a material in the form of liquid or paste, and in most cases, the entrance of such a container through which a material in a dischargeable bag is to be poured is generally formed of a small size compared with the profile (capacity) of the container. Accordingly, there is a problem that, when the dischargeable bag is partly broken to allow for discharge of the packed material, the packed material is liable to spill around the container.
There is another problem in that, for a transfer operation, it is necessary to have ready a blade for cutting the bag in addition to the bag in which the packed material is contained and the container into which it will be transferred, and the transfer operation is therefore cumbersome.
Further, when some packed material remains in the bag upon completion of a transfer operation, the cut opening of the bag must necessarily be sealed to prevent the packed material from leaking through the cut opening. However, since the bag is flexible as described above, there is a further problem in that the cut opening cannot be effectively sealed and the prevention of leakage cannot be achieved sufficiently. Where a capable plug member is provided for the bag, the last-mentioned problem is eliminated, but since the plug member projects from the bag, there is a problem in that the plug member is liable to collide, upon transportation, with a foreign object, causing damage to the plug member or the bag, and the plug member therefore becomes an obstacle when transporting the bag.
The problems described above are naturally a concern in restaurants or hospitals where material is consumed in large amounts and frequent transfer operations are required. However, with the recent tendency toward the saving of resources and the prevention of the production of waste, the problems are a matter of particular concern from the point of view that they are an obstacle to the popularization of packed materials for home use.